Homecoming

Dicey Tillerman, aged 12, and her younger siblings find themselves abandoned by their mother in a car in a mall parking lot. They were supposed to be traveling as a family from their home in Providence, RI, to their Mom's Aunt Cilla's home in Bridgeport, CT, when Mom announced that she needed to stop at a mall, and would be right back. Times had been tough with no father at home, but Aunt Cilla would surely help them out...that was the reason for the trip. When Mom did not return to the car after most of a day and a night, Dicey took matters into her own hands, and decided that going on to Bridgeport was the only option they had. With a map, very little money, and a lot of determination, she resolved to keep her brothers and sister show more together, and get them to Aunt Cilla's...on foot. Voigt is a marvelous storyteller, a masterful problem solver, and a genius at creating separate personalities for four remarkable little humans. If she didn't walk most of the children's route from Providence to Bridgeport herself, I'd be very surprised. As unlikely to succeed as her protagonists' endeavor seems (and it probably would not be possible in 2022, as it may have been in the late 1970s when the story is set), she made a believer out of me. One or two tiny quibbles with factual situations that I question the legitimacy of, but nothing that would swamp the entire enterprise. The ending was as good as it could be, without a scrap of sentimental BS (but I might have almost shed a little tear) I absolutely loved this book. show less

Dicey and her brothers and sister are abandoned by their mother in a car in a mall parking lot. They were on their way to an aunt's house, so they decide to keep going on their own, hoping that this unknown relative will take them in and help them find their mother. Dicey leads them on a long journey through towns, state parks, across rivers and bays, sleeping in off-the-road places and doing odd jobs here and there for spare change while avoiding any authorities. Their trek doesn't end at the aunt's place, though, who isn't, for various reasons, good for them. But they learn that they have a possibly-insane grandmother, and so they continue on with their journey, alone but together.
An excellent yarn; I was rooting for Dicey and her show more little family from Page One. show less

An old favorite from my teen years, Homecoming tells the story of four children suddenly abandoned by their mother in a mall parking lot, how they survive a long journey on foot to family members they have never met, and what they learn about each other and the world on the way. The story is from eldest sister Dicey's point of view, and she's a wonderful character to hang out with. Characterization and mundane but fascinating details are what make this novel a favorite, and the end is perfect and satisfying without being too neat or pat. ~Feb 2022

Best book I've read so far this year (I know: February 1 means that's not saying a lot, but I bet it's still in the top five come December 31). This young-adult book is the first in Voigt's show more Tillerman Cycle, and it follows the Tillerman children's journey from Connecticut to Maryland. When their mother disappears, leaving thirteen-year-old Dicey, ten-year-old James, nine-year-old MayBeth, and six-year-old Sammy alone in the family car, the Tillermans must decide what to do. Dicey takes charge of the family and leads them first to Bridgeport, Connecticut, where she knows an aunt lives, and then, when the aunt makes noises about not being able to keep all four kids, on to Crisfield, Maryland, and an unknown grandmother. This journey is made mostly on foot, and the book chronicles the ins-and-outs of life on the road for four children with almost no money. They meet quite a few people along the way--mostly kind and helpful strangers--but the focus is always on the family and what they learn about themselves, each other, and life. As most of Voigt's books do, Homecoming makes the details of everyday chores fascinating and provides character studies that would rival those in adult literary fiction. Never sappy or sentimental and serious without ever being depressing. Recommended. show less

Dicey, James, Maybeth, and Sammy Tillerman's momma left them in the car while she went into a shopping mall. They were on their way from Provincetown, Massachusetts to Bridgeport, Connecticut, to stay with a relative. But the hours passed, and Momma never came back. Dicey knew that she had to do something -- something to keep the family together. If she went to the police, would they be split up and sent to foster homes? It was a risk she didn't want to take. So, Dicey and her younger siblings set out on the long walk to Bridgeport, hoping that Momma would somehow find her way there. But even Bridgeport may not be the home they had hoped for, and their journey might take them even further away, to Crisfield, Maryland, and the show more grandmother they didn't even know they had.

I've loved this series for years. The story of the Tillerman family is so rich, so bittersweet. Voigt just nails it on so many levels: the interactions between the characters, the way she describes the hardships of the journey without ever making the story drag, the descriptions of food and music and simple pleasures. This is a book that I can revisit again and again. show less

I remember reading this book in elementary school, and the fascination with a bunch of kids surviving on their own in the world has followed me since then. I'm glad the book still holds up. Even though it's a completely mundane world, the challenges the Tillermans face are engrossing and compelling. I adore the consistent theme of home, defining it and finding it. It all felt very real: Dicey's efforts to always keep the Tillermans together, the very real threats to that goal, the siblings' strong relationships and contentions, the characters' individual complexities. The book reminds me of how I felt reading the Anne of Green Gables series, of falling completely into the characters and their world. Both books are written so well that show more they feel like coming home. show less

Picture yourself as a teenager with three younger siblings. What would you do if your mother left all of you in a car in a mall parking lot to never came back? Dicey Tillerman faces that dilemma after she realizes her mother has been "shopping" way too long. A full night and day too long. Looking back on the events leading up to this abandonment, Dicey understands her mother had been planning this escape from her children carefully, almost deliberately. Making them memorize the address to their great-aunt's house; packing them bag lunches. The days before her departure were full of signs Dicey somehow missed or didn't want to believe. Now, armed with bag lunches and a few dollars, she must protect her little family of siblings. show more Shepherding them along country backroads, hiding in bushes, camping on deserted beaches, and scrimping and saving only to buy the bare necessities, Dicey navigates her way down the coast of Connecticut from Peewauket, Massachusetts to their great-aunt's house, hoping mother will be there. This is an all-too-real tale of a mother overwhelmed by life. Her children are fighters, though. Each child will warm your heart with their various personalities. show less

This story of the Tillerman kids, abandoned by their mother in a carpark, was gripping from the first page. Thirteen-year-old Dicey immediately sees that they have to avoid notice, so the four siblings won't be taken into custody and split up. She has a few dollars, an address, and a family to hold together, until they can find their mother again.
The sibling's trip is exciting, and enough to keep the pages turning rapidly - by the time they reach Great Aunt Cilla's house, I really cared about each character so much that the moments of their lives were more engrossing than the action.But things continued to be hair raising after they reach Cilla's - it was great to read something as evenly divided between action and mystery.
I was often show more reminded of the V.C. Andrews books I read a long time ago - just the determination of the family to stay together, not the incesty bits. And that family gothic staple of madness running in a family, and the family trying and failing to outrun it. I will be eagerly reading my way through the rest of the books in this series.
I'd give this to readers who like gritty family stories, urban adventure stories, stories about runaways, and to any lingering VC Andrews fans, as an example of a well written and intelligent family gothic. show less